And I always laughed because everyone told me jokes. After we finished our chores we went to sleep. When we heard the Gombeys we would dance until we got sleepy. Then we went to sleep. When we woke up in the morning we got our gifts. But we're lucky if we got new toys because our parents mostly got our toys from the dump.

Then they will paint the toys to make them look brand new. If we only got one toy the boys will make a sling shot. The girls will make a baby doll. The boys would make their sling shot by chopping down wood and shaping the wood into a sling shot.

The girls would make their baby doll by taking a bottle, stuff the bottle with some string that looks like hair, leave pieces hanging out.

Then we put on eyes, nose and a mouth. Then we put a dress on. Then you see a baby doll. On Christmas I knew this lady that left some fruit in a bottle of rum for next Christmas to make pudding. When I tasted the pudding I had to have seconds. I will never forget the old Christmas days.

Geno Jones Age 9 Southampton Glebe